4-Film Collection: Humphrey Bogart
SYNOPSIS:
Another four-film collection from Warner Archive delivers a quartet of previously released Humphrey Bogart films in one shot.
Warner Archive’s series of 4-Film Collections keeps on rolling with a new quartet of Blu-ray discs featuring movies starring Humphrey Bogart. Now that Paramount/Skydance has won the war for Warner Bros., I hope that doesn’t mean Warner Archive will be hamstrung in the months to come.
I know, who am I kidding? The Ellisons gutted Paramount and will likely do the same to Warner Bros. Discovery. My understanding is that the studio has licensed out a couple hundred movies to various boutiques like Arrow, Criterion, Kino Lorber, and Shout! Factory, so hopefully they will at least continue those arrangements.
Anyway, let’s travel back to the Golden Age of Hollywood and revisit Bogey’s career, which saw him star in 75 feature films and a bunch of radio and TV shows. Amazingly, he was only nominated three times for an Oscar and won just once, for The African Queen.
None of these movies saw Oscar action, but they’re all interesting glimpses into a career that was more than just his iconic role in Casablanca.
They Drive By Night (1940)
Directed by Raoul Walsh.
Starring George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, and Humphrey Bogart.
We kick off the collection with a film that’s a curious creature: part noir, part suspense, and part drama, with a healthy dash of amusing dialogue thrown in, courtesy of Hugh MacMullen. Bogart plays Paul Fabrini, who drives long-haul trucking routes with his brother, Joe (George Raft).
It’s a tough business, and they’re always trying to stay one step ahead of a loan shark named Farnsworth (Charles Halton). Paul is happily married, leaving Joe to fall for the beautiful Cassie Hartley (Ann Sheridan) when they meet her in a diner.
After an accident leaves Paul with one arm, Joe finds himself approached with a job offer by trucking business owner Ed Carlsen (Alan Hale Sr.), whose wife Lana (Ida Lupino) has long wanted to hook up with Joe.
Joe goes to work for Ed, bringing in Paul as a dispatcher, and soon life becomes complicated as Lana ratchets up her interest in Joe. Soon the story takes a noir-ish turn, which feels odd in this day and age but probably wasn’t a big deal in 1940, when film genres were still taking shape.
On the bonus features front, a featurette from the DVD days called Divided Highway: The Story of “They Drive By Night” covers the movie and its legacy, with Leonard Maltin and others dicussing it.
You also get the 44-minute abridged radio version of the film from 1941 along with a 19-minute short called Swingtime in the Movies, which features Bogart and other stars of the day playing themselves. The original theatrical trailer rounds out the platter.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Passage to Marseille (1944)
Directed by Michael Curtiz.
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Michèle Morgan, and Claude Rains.
Based on the 1942 novel Sans Patrie, this one puts Bogey in the role of Jean Matrac, part of a group of men found adrift in the Caribbean Sea by a French tramp steamer in 1940.
The story actually begins in 1942, as a journalist named Manning (John Loder) visits a British air force base to learn more about the Free French pilots who fight with them against Germany. He meets with Captain Freycinet (Claude Rains), who tells him the story of the group of men including Matrac.
During that flashback, we get a new, nested flashback that gives us the true origins of the Frenchmen, who originally claimed to be miners returning to France to fight for their country. While that may seem confusing, director Michael Curtiz and editor Owen Marks do a great job of making the various storylines easy to follow.
And if you’re wondering, no, Bogart doesn’t even attempt to use a French accent, which definitely comes off as odd in the modern age. He was such a big star in 1944, and the United States was in the throes of World War II then, so I imagine theatergoers gave him a pass, though.
Extras on this one kick off with a batch called Warner Night at the Movies, which is meant to recreate what a typical theater experience was like back then. You get a movie trailer, a newsreel, two shorts, and a cartoon. All of it hails from 1944, so there’s, of course, a World War II theme running throughout.
You also get a featurette about the history of the Free French movement during the war, along with another short that’s a gag reel pulled from various movies, and the theatrical trailer for the main attraction.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Conflict (1945)
Directed by Curtis Bernhardt.
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, and Sydney Greenstreet.
If you’ve ever wondered what Bogart was like as a bad guy, here’s your chance in 1945’s Conflict. He plays Richard Mason, who’s married to Kathryn Mason (Rose Hobart) but has a thing for Kathryn’s sister, Evelyn (Alexis Smith).
Kathryn is aware of Richard’s wandering eye but makes it clear she will not give him a divorce. Richard decides to take drastic measures to get out of his marriage, and the bulk of the story features him dealing with various inexplicable incidents, such as the arrest of a pickpocket who had one of Kathryn’s rings in his possession.
I found the ending very ham-fisted and hard to believe, but Conflict is still worth a watch to see another side of Bogey. Extras include the theatrical trailer, a condensed radio adaptation of the film, and two cartoons and two short films from the era.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Chain Lightning (1950)
Directed by Stuart Heisler.
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Eleanor Parker, and Raymond Massey.
Our final film takes place during the post-war period, with Bogart playing Lt. Colonel Matthew “Matt” Brennan, who piloted a B-17 bomber during the conflict and now runs a flying school.
He’s offered a job as the chief test pilot for the Willis Aircraft Company, which is developing the experimental jet fighter known as the JA-3. His wartime comrade Carl Troxell (Richard Whorf) is the designer of the fighter, and Brennan convinces company owner Leland Willies (Raymond Massey) to allow him to conduct a long-distance flight with the JA-3 that will impress the government and the media. Eleanor Parker plays his love interest, Jo Holloway.
Chain Lightning is a solid way to close out this collection. Jet aircraft were a relatively new thing in 1950, but even today, I think audiences can appreciate the intensity of this film’s flight scenes. Extras include a short film, a cartoon, and the theatrical trailer.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
